Neurosciences

Body Copy

Restoring how you function everyday

Medical conditions of the spine may restrict your everyday activities and cause significant pain. Parkview’s neuroscience team works with area neurologists and neurosurgeons to provide relief and restore your functioning to its full capacity.

Depending on your health status, surgical procedures may be recommended to relieve pressure on nerves, remove ruptured spinal discs or damaged vertebrae, and generally provide pain relief. The type of surgery recommended by your physician will be determined by the severity of the condition and the stability of your spinal column.

Anterior cervical discectomy (front of the neck) – Performed in the case of a ruptured disc. The disc is removed and may be replaced with a bone graft.

Anterior cervical corpectomy – Performed at the same time as a discectomy. Portions of the vertebra are removed, usually at one or two levels. Space created by the removal is replaced with a bone graft, also known as a fusion.

Posterior microdiscectomy (back of the neck) – A small portion of the joint between affected vertebrae is removed, and the nerve root is gently shifted so the soft disc material can be removed through the opening.

Posterior cervical laminectomy (middle of the neck) – The area around the nerve root is enlarged, and bone, disc material or other tissue is removed to stop impingement of the root.

Fusion – Used in conjunction with other surgeries to maintain stability of the spine.

Chronic back pain

The Parkview Neurosciences care team uses various approaches to treat chronic back pain, depending on your health history:

Physical therapy

Medication

Nerve block injections

Spinal cord stimulator

Surgical repair

Certain individuals who experience chronic pain from cancer, spinal cord injury and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) have found relief through the use of a spinal cord stimulator. Implanted under the skin of the lower abdomen, the device uses low-voltage electrical stimulation to block pain that normally travels along the spinal cord. The majority of patients who have had a spinal cord stimulator implanted have experienced significant relief. In addition, some individuals have been able to reduce their use of medications.